Reinsurance is a way for an insurance company to protect itself from losses due to a catastrophic event. Reinsurance allows an insurer to protect policy holders against risks greater than the insurer would itself, alone, could provide. Often times such extended protection is achieved by sharing the risk with a lead reinsurer and one or more following reinsures. Although the risk is spread and borne among the multiple reinsures, the lead reinsurer sets the premiums and other contract conditions.